7. In your opinion can a practising Christian/theist support war as being just? Explain your answer.

The just war theory is a essentially a Christian philosophy which attempts to get Christians to accept roughly three main concepts firstly that any death of any person is completely wrong, secondly states have a duty to defend their citizens, and thirdly to defend justice by protecting innocent human life and defending important moral values which sometimes requires the will to use force and violence to stop any breach of the above.
Normally states use the theory of a ‘just war’ before entering a conflict however individual Christians use it to decide whether it is morally right or wrong to get involved or support such a conflict. The Bible states that if violence is used as an act of defence from an attacker then war can sometimes be justified Numbers 31:1-3 ‘The LORD said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them.’ In addition there is no actual commandment against killing, against murder yes Commandment 6 so one could argue there is perhaps more evidence supporting war as being just.
In the old days of knights and Holy wars the pope would order a Holy crusade in order to retake religious places Nations such as France, England, Germany and Spain would put aside their differences and crusade for the Holy cause in reward they would have their sins removed via the Pope one such place more infamous than others Jerusalem, In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem which at the time was the most holy of holy places for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God". However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed. The rock was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on it or touch it when visiting the Dome. Thus the Christians fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years.
In my personal opinion as a Christian a find I can support a war to be just, many of the main wars people remember happened many years before my birth however such conflicts as the Falklands 82’ and peacekeeping operations in Northern Ireland to me can be justified, as a state we have a duty to protect our citizens and in 1982 when Argentina illegally invaded The British islands of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s sovereign overseas territory we sent a task force to liberate the British people who had been occupied, the bible says that this can be justified as we acted merely out of self-defence. In Northern Ireland I support our cause to protect the people of both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds more so Protestants from Catholic Republicans. I do not however see our involvement in the Iraq war as just, well to the extent of liberating the country yes as a Christian I must believe in protecting the lives of others from harm however occupying it? No I feel we should of pulled out and stopped any further involvement in the war as in my belief it soon turned into Americas excuse for oil. ‘The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.’ Isaiah 2:3-4 This quote to me means that yes you can support a just war and do the right thing but you have to know when to stop, you have to know the line between being a ‘good’ Christian and being a threat to others.
In summary a Christian can support a just war but only after considering three very important factors, one Christianity on a whole is generally opposed to violence and that any death of any person is completely wrong. Two, states have a duty to defend their citizens. And three, Christians must defend justice by protecting innocent human life and defending important moral values which may require the will to use force and violence to stop others breaching them.